Wednesday, October 14, 2009

If Pixar Shorts Were My Children, There Would Be Favortism

Good thing they aren't my kids. I love that Pixar has those delightful short movies before their full-length feature film. It is awesome. It's like the delicious hors d'oeuvres before the scrumptious meal, if you will. Apparently Pixar shorts are a metaphor to many things in life, like children and food.

Anyway, if I were to rank the shorts by my enjoyment of them, then hypothetically and in theory, it would look something like this: (That is, if I were to rank them.)

1.


Lifted

Oh my. I absolutely loved this one. The animation was fantastic. The personalities of the aliens were apparent even without verbal communication. But really, I think that the kicker for me was the guy in bed at his house. I share the ability to sleep really deeply, and the situation was fantastic. It was all very delightfully ... ironic.

2.


Luxo Jr.

Awwww... this one is so cute. I love the little lamp and how it's so carefree and fun and enjoying the ball. And then it's so sad when the ball loses all the air. And then it's so exciting that Luxo Jr. gets a bigger ball. Yay! I think that we can all relate to that to some degree. Sometimes that happens in life.

3.

Partly Cloudy

I actually thought that this one was really touching. I mean, it's super funny, but it almost made me want to weep. That stork ... if it were a person, bless that person. Bless that stork. Oh, Pixar, you are so brilliant.

4.


Boundin'

So honestly, I didn't really like this one at first. There is something about cowboy poetry that really irritates me at first. And the animation kind of offended my eyes at first. Remember, I have issues with claymationy stuff, and Pixar is terribly borderline as far as its likeness to claymation. Anyway, I really like it now. I enjoy the message, and I think that the little sheep is all cute when it's boundin' along.

5.


Geri's Game

This one is so mind-bogglingly brilliant. Maybe it was a little disturbing to me at first, but it's really just plain funny.

6.


For the Birds

This is another one I had to get used to. It's brilliant, but every single one of the birds is mean in this one at some point. I really enjoy the part when the feathers are falling down. There is something really beautiful to me about things floating or falling in a group towards the ground. Like leaves. Or snow. Or blue feathers.

7.


Knick Knack

I have a love/hate with the music in this one. It's totally perfect for it, but I almost hate it. But I kind of like it. I am torn. Alright, so the plot of this one is pretty funny, but for some reason, I can never really feel for the snowman. He just seems kind of cranky. Enjoyable still, though.

8.


Presto

The rabbit just wants a carrot, you magician meanie! And rabbit? You're really mean to the magician! Sometimes this one just makes me feel so uncomfortable. Especially any part with the magician in the scene because he is on the wrong side of animation. Too close to that claymationy disturbing, I guess. Still, though, I rejoiced when the rabbit got the carrot. I couldn't help it.

9.


One Man Band

This one is the bastard child of my litter. The One Man Band men were absolutely disturbing to me in their animation. Creepy. This is why we are looking at the kid with the two coins. It is bearable. And the kid? Not that great. I felt nothing for the kid. Actually, I thought the kid should have run away screaming from the two creepy and scary guys. I will say, though, that I think that the music in this one is excellent.

So, how about you? Do you disagree? Agree?

13 comments:

Cash said...

"Partly Cloudy" is probably my favorite, but I remember really liking "Lifted," too. (I haven't seen it in a while.) I don't remember "Luxo Jr." or "Knick Knack" at all. Did you watch them all recently, Cardine?

Jess said...

I haven't seen most of these! How is that possible? I have a three year old. I should pay better attention I suppose. They look really funny though.

dub said...

I like "Partly Cloudy" too, but the one I enjoyed the most the first time I saw it was "For the Birds." I guess I have a soft spot for people/things that get picked on by the crowd. I remember that I couldn't control my laughter at the theater while I watched it, and then my roommate couldn't stop laughing at me. Those mean little birds got what they deserved!

"Lifted" got ruined for me because when I saw it in the theater, a huge family came in late and walked in front of me to get to seats during the short. And then they decided they didn't like those seats, so they crossed in front of me again to get to other seats. They obviously had no concept of Pixar hors d'oeuvres.

julie said...

First off, I love the title for this post. You're so clever!

I've only seen about half of these, but I agree with your comments on them. I totally felt like crying a little during Partly Cloudy, too. I don't know if I've seen Lifted, what movie did it precede?

I love that you called One Man Band the "bastard child". It wasn't my favorite either. It would be the gin and tonic before dinner - I'll pass!

Cash said...

Are you going to rank the Pixar features, too?

tearese said...

I don't remember the details to a lot of those, and I haven't seen the first one. Elora loves boundin, we have to watch it every time we watch INcredibles.

Angela said...

I love the ones of these that I have seen. Will you put on your blog which movies they are on? I want to see the ones I have missed! ; )

Laurel said...

I really liked "For the Birds". I like that they get what's coming to them. :)
"Luxo Jr." is a great one. I've got the music going in my head now.
I haven't seen three of those; I have some catching up to do.

Mellissa said...

Well, I'm not scared of claymation like you are, so I really enjoy most of them. For the Birds and One Man Band are probably my favorites, but I love the lamp and the old man playing chess.

Indy said...

Presto is my favorite.

Cardine said...

Cash - 1. Yeah, I watched them all semi-recently. To do this post, I had to go look Luxo Jr up on YouTube to watch it because I couldn't remember it well enough, and my copy of Toy Story 2 doesn't have it on it for some stupid reason. 2. Possibly. Good idea.

Jess - YouTube. Watch them. With Tyson.

dub - We will have to watch "Lifted" again sometime.

Julie - Thanks! "Lifted" is before "Ratatouille."

Tearese - Yeah, I watch it every time now, too.

Graves Family - Click here.

Laurel - YouTube.

Mellissa - I'm glad other people can enjoy scary animation. :)

Wendy - But isn't the Magician creepy?

Cardine said...

Graves family - Sorry. I thought I did the link right. Oh well. I just was sending you to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_shorts

Angela said...

Awesome! Thanks!